Paralyzed
by Tolkein-Moony
Summary: Keith, after attacking a Galra ship, is stranded on the Planet Lutece with Lance, injured and weak, with no hope of rescue. It was a stupid selfish plan to begin with, Keith knows, but he never imagined it would turn out like this. Now, the two must traverse certain death, together, in hopes of finding rescue. (look in the Author's Notes for full summary) Beta: Button-Neck
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello! Thanks for checking out "Paralyzed." Just a quick announcement that this story will be multi-chapter and to please come back if you are interested in more! thanks again, Sincerely, TM. (Tolkein-Moony, Moony) Please tell me what you think and if its worth continuing. (I have an outline detailing about seven more chapters)

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FULL SUMMARY: Keith, after attacking a Galra ship, is stranded on the Planet Lutece with Lance, injured and weak, with no hope of rescue. It was a stupid selfish plan to begin with, Keith knows, but he never imagined it would turn out like this. Now, the two must traverse certain death, together, in hopes of finding rescue. Will this destroy the little ambiance between them or will it pull them together in their time of need?

CHAPTER ONE

Keith's bayard clashed against the _hundredth_ Galra sword that fight. Ok, fine. _Probably_ not the hundredth. Probably. Either way, he could feel his strength fading. _How many more are_ _there?! How many more could there_ possibly _be?_ Lance's shots ranged right over his head, taking out a Galra behind him. Panting, Keith turned to block another soldier's sword. _Were they always this fucking strong?_ He managed a shout as he lunged to strike yet another enemy.

"Keith! To your right!"

"Got it!" His bayard swung wide, slicing through an oncoming soldier.

"Badas- Oh shit! Keith, look ou- MOVE!" Keith was pushed to the ground and turned just in time to see Lance flying through the air, bitch-slapped by a heavily modded Galra. He hit the wall with a shout of pain then fell to the floor in a heap.

"Lance!" Keith's eyes went wide. Shaking off the shock, the paladin stood quickly, readying his sword despite his sweaty brow. But realization was swift- there was no way in hell Keith kill this bastard alone, not without Lance. There had to be another way, some plan, _any_ plan! But none came. Keith was frozen in place, merely watching as the Cy-Galra approached.

Suddenly, the ground tilted, causing both him and the remaining Galra to fall on their respective asses. Alarms blared as explosions sounded throughout the ship.

"MALFUNCTION DETECTED. MALFUNCTION DETECTED. LEFT PROPELLER IS INCAPACITATED. INITIATING REPAIR SEQUENCE NOW."

Keith's eyes raced around the room, passing from the alarms above the airlock, to Lance's body underneath, to the fallen Galra commander to-wait, the airlock! That's it! They couldn't be more than, what, twenty feet from the ground? Keith steeled his mind and launched himself, best he could, toward the airlock and toward Lance. Landing feet parallel to the airlock door, Keith reached out for Lance, shut his eyes, and pressed the button, sending them both careening toward Planet Lutece.

"Lance! Lance, answer me damnit! Come ON!"

The ship launched farther into the air, managing to enter the atmosphere despite the malfunction, leaving Keith and Lance falling toward the ground below. The sandy floor became closer and closer before Keith closed his eyes and hit the ground, everything going black.

* * *

Keith felt himself groaning, the pain in his head and body finally registering in his mind. _Damn…where?_ His opened his eyes and immediately squeezed them shut again. _Bright…_ He tried again. Finally, Keith managed to be mostly…ok, fine, _somewhat_ conscious. He pushed himself upright and shook his head, clearing some more of the funk away.

The heat of the planet's sun was oddly comforting in this situation, it reminded him of home and safety and.. and… was he forgetting something? Or someone? He felt like it… But Keith couldn't seem to remember. He couldn't see anyone- Wait... a minute… see who? Who was he lookiing fo- That's right! Him and- and Lance, what's who! They fell… where was he? Where was Lance?

Keith's eyes frantically searched for any sign of the blue paladin. Nothing on the horizon- wait! There! Sticking out of the grass to Keith's left was a tuft of brown hair, and was that his shoulder?

"Lance?! L-Lance!" His voice was shaking.

The paladin pushed himself from the ground, and stumbled, feeling both broken and bent, over to Lance. His vision was spinning and pain radiated throughout his body, but he didn't care. He had to make sure...his fri- teammate couldn't be... Not because of his shitty actions...

"Lance!"

Keith knelt as quickly as he could. Lance lay on his side, back to the other paladin. He looked so pale. His hair was matted with blood and dust. Keith reached out- then flinched at the pain. Broken wrist. Great, just fucking great. And pain meant his adrenaline was fading… He signed and switched hands before grasping Lance's shoulder and slowly turning him over.

As soon as he began to move him, Lance began to shriek- even half-conscious a sound that was gut wrenching. But it was over a second later, Lance lay on his back, gasping for air, and _alive. Thank god._ Keith ran a hand through Lance's hair. Wait...where was his helmet? Keith's mind raced as he glanced around, panicked. It took a second, but eventually Keith found it knocked away in the grass not to far to the left. _That's one victory at least._

Wind blew softly through the grassy plains of... what was it again? Planet Ulathu? _It doesn't matter...even if I did know where we were, no one else does. Allura... Coran... Shiro... No one. And it's all my fault! All my goddamn fault... If I hadn't been so selfish to go after Red alone- No, If I hadn't lost Red in the first place Lance wouldn't be-_

"K-Keith?" A weak voice broke his thoughts.

"Lance? Lance!"

"No- Not y-your folt..." Apparently they hadn't just been thoughts, but quiet murmurs- Lance, in his usual idiotic manor, had decided to put comforting Keith above his own injuries and pain.

"Lance! Are you alright? Where does it hurt? Lance?"

"I'm...fine, K-Keith." Lance replied, wincing slightly. "You?"

"Don't worry about me, Lance. I was lucky. You on the other hand..." Keith's eyes glazed over Lance's broken and bloody armor. "Not so much."

"I guess...you could say t-that." Lance smiled slightly. "But were alive, t-that's all that matters." Keith nodded, still looking over Lance's injuries.

"We need to get your wounds bound and splinted, then we need to find shelter away from here. The Galra could come back for us, but before that-" Lance reached up with one hand, touching the side of Keith's face.

"W-why so serious?" His voice was pitched down and his face was stern before he cracked a smile.

"Lance! Now is not the time for, what I'm guessing is, jokes! This is serious! You could have died for all I knew!" Lance's smile disappeared.

"Right. Death. Not a joking topic. Sorry."

"It's...fine. Now let me check your wounds." Keith ran his hands along the broken armor and along Lance's arms and shoulders as best he could despite his splitting headache; concussions were not fun no matter what someone might say. When his hand touched Lance's right shoulder, he yelped and pulled away before fighting the urge to run and fell back into Keith's lap.

"Ow. That's definitely broken." Lance reached up with his left hand and prodded the tender area, finding that it when all the way down his side and across his ribs.

"Not broken, dislocated."

"Same thing."

"Not really... Whatever. Think what you want. Either way, it has to be put back in place and I don't really know how... I could hurt you!"

"B- _bullshit_. W-what, did you get kicked out of garrison before shoulder r-relocation 101? You can do this. I trust you."

 _You shouldn't._ The thought ran through Keith's head but he pushed it back. Now's not the time.

Keith nodded and laid Lance down on the sand packed floor. His heart began to race as he stood and walked to Lance's wounded side.

"Just...uh just stay still, I guess."

"Duly noted, mullet." Keith frowned then knelt. He grasped Lance's arm and positioned it at, what was it, a 90 degree angle? Was that what you were supposed you do? Lance tensed.

"Let me guess, this is gonna hurt, huh?" Keith didn't respond but instead began to pull the arm slowly. Lance's breath caught in his throat. A strangled sound escaped his tight lips just before he began to scream. Keith flinched at the sound, but did not relent. Seconds later, with a small _pop,_ Lance's joint fell back into place. The paladin slumped back, exhausted.

"A-again...oww." Lance let a shaky smile snake its way onto his face. Keith, despite himself, smiled back, before breathing deeply and sighing.

"That should do it for now. C'mon Lance, let's get going. We need to find a way to contact Allura...and get away from this landing pad." Keith stood as he talked and reached out for Lance. He pulled the shaky paladin to his feet...only to have him collapse into him. Keith shouted, pain flaring up in his half forgotten injuries.

"Lance! What the hell?! That hurt you-" Keith cut himself off at just the right time. Lance lay on the ground atop Keith, trying to support himself with one arm.

"Huston... We have a problem."

"Lance...?" Keith voice held a warning.

"I can't- I can't f-feel my legs..."

 _Shit._


	2. Chapter 2

"The hell does that mean, Lance?" Keith tried to calm his emotions, but everything was in a downward spiral.

` "It m-means I… I can't … I- God, I c-can't feel them, Keith! They're n-not there, oh god!" Lance's breaths quickened as he began to panic, arms shaking as he gripped Keith tightly, nails digging into any purchace he could find in attempt to ground himself.

"Lance! Lance! Calm down, it'll be ok- what happened to being alive, hm? We're alive, that's all that matters. Coran and Allura will get you in a healing pod and this all will just be a bad dream, ok?" Keith felt it strange, being on the opposite end of his usual spectrum. Typically it was him being talked out of anxiety or anger, sometimes both.

But now, Lance needed him. Lance needed someone to remind him of what was most important- Keeping calm; finding a way back to the ship and surviving.

Lance's breath slowly began to come back to him, though he still shook like a leaf. He swallowed and looked up at Keith.

"W-what now?" His voice was raw and pained.

"Now, we, uh, find somewhere to camp for the night and… and find civilization, I guess." Lance nodded before realization hit him.

"Keith! What should I-" He cut himself off, dismissing some thought. "H-how will you remember where I am?"

"...What?"

"I-I can't walk, remember mullet brain? You have to leave-"

"No!" Keith yelled the word before he could stop himself to settle his anger. "I am not leaving you here, Lance. You are a Paladin of Voltron and… and you-" He took a deep breath, "You are my friend. I would never leave a friend here alone."

"But, you h-have no choice!" Lance began to cough through his words but continued as best he could, "I'm useless n-now! Not that I'm m-much use t-to begin with, but n-now I can't even carry myse-" He dissolved into a fit of coughing.

Keith's face was almost made of stone. He leaned forward and grasped Lance tight, pulling him into a hug.

"I won't leave you, get that into your thick skull." Keith held him for a moment more, before pulling away, face a few shades darker. He cleared his throat and looked away. He wasn't sure what he felt, but it was new. Really new. He was never the comforter, never the sympathizer… but now...

Lance shifted beneath him, trying to take some weight off his injuries. He no longer seemed interested in arguing. Keith took that as a victory and slipped his arms under Lance's knees and around his shoulders, cradling the paladin's injured side to his chest.

The pair made their way across the desert planet. The previously comforting sun now beat down, creating a layer of heat atop the grassy sand. Keith's brow began to shine with sweat.

Lance did try to stay awake, he really did, but the heat and constant rocking of Keith's strides soon proved to be too much. His fading adrenaline didn't help the matter, either. He fell in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherent phrases here and there, before finally falling over the edge of sleep.

Terrain soon changed from sahara to slowly building mountains as Keith walked. The sun became hotter as it worked its way across the sky. Keith was nearing his limit- he could take the heat, but this combined with his injuries would soon prove to be too much, even with his stubbornness. Despite this realization, Keith continued to trudge forward, pushing himself as far as he possibly could.

Then, his legs didn't belong to him. They were numb and wouldn't do what he told them to.

He fell to his knees, near-gasping for air. As soon as he hit the ground, Lance let out a yelp, the garish movement jerking him awake. He fell from Keith's arms and onto the dusty ground. His breath heaved as he tried desperately to catch it. He whipped 'round to see keith, sweat covered and panting.

"Keith! W-what happened? Are you... alright? Scratch that, of c-course you aren't! See, look what happened! I t-told you to leave me, you idiot… Keith?" Lance's head tilted, trying to see Keith's drooping face. They both sat, breathing heavily, in silence until keith was able to speak.

"Fine, Lance, I'm fine! Just tired and..." He eventually elaborated after a look of pointed disbelief settled on Lance's brow, along with worry and a hint of barley noticable guilt.. "Hungry, honestly, that's all.. But we need to keep goi-"

"No, no, n-no. What we need is for you to rest, Keith." Lance scanned the horizon, or well, what could pass for the horizon now, as best he could. Small mountains had arisen during the trek, missed by Lance entirely. He blinked a few times before speaking.

"Well, this is an improvement from the desert, at least." He sighed, finally contemplating the seriousness of this situation without a panic filled mind. "There," He said, pointing ahead to a small alcove between two mounds of rock. "It's not pretty, but it'll work." Keith nodded. He hadn't noticed the cave…

"I guess you're good for some things, huh?" He let out a small airy chuckle at lance's now-sticking-out tongue, slightly lightening the tension present in this… pickle. He always can lighten a situation, huh?

He pushed himself part way up. Reaching out, Keith told Lance to wrap his arms around him. Reluctantly, Lance did as he was told.

Keith stood fully now, taking Lance's weight across his shoulders now and began to make his way to the alcove. Lance, bless his heart, tried to put his feet under him and walk, but only managed a few barely-there steps before just sagging against keith.

The sun was near fully across the sky by then. A cool breeze had begun to work its way through the mountain range; the orange light of day began to dwindle into dark.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for waiting so long! I will try and get the next chapter out sooner, but no promises. Love you all, and thank you for the read! Feel free to drop a comment ;)**

Enjoy!

Keith stumbled into the cave opening. The floor below him was covered in a thin layer of sand that scattered against the stone, and eventually ran out further into the cave. It was cooler inside, a pleasant relief from the beating sun. The last rays of light filtered into the cave from Keith's left, illuminating a blue pool of crystal water. The alcove seemed to be covered in a smooth layer of blue turquoise.

Keith placed Lance against a rock in the near-center of the floor and sat down himself. His eyes closed of their own volition. He fought to keep them open, keep himself awake, but he failed miserably. His breathing slowed and his body relaxed. Not a minute later, he jerked himself up, eyes wide and whipped to face lance.

"What happened? Did I fall asleep?" Lance shook his head.

"Don't worry, you're fine. You just close your eyes for a minute."

Keith let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god…"

He stood and began to pace, opening and closing his mouth two or three times before sitting back down. "How… How do you feel?"

Lance smiled at that. _Ever the worrier…_

"I'm fine, relatively speaking. Ribs have stopped hurting, so that's either really good or fuck all bad, but I'm choosing to be optimistic here."

"You sound better. The stuttering has stopped."

"Yeah… I adapt pretty fast like that." He sent Keith a wink. Keith rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Yup, a picture of health, Lance."

The tone quieted as the pair sat, listening to the wind through the cave. Minutes passed before Keith stood, causing Lance to give a small start.

"...Keith? What is it, I had… almost fallen asleep…"

"Night'll come soon, and if I'm right, it will be way colder than it is now… we need some form of fire. Since the cave is cut off- but it has air holes the smoke'll…" Keith mumbled and trailed off as he craned his neck to see the small skylights above the pool.

"Keith? Whatcha scheming?"

"Firewood, we need some. I'm gonna go and check around- I didn't see anything before, but that means shit right now." Keith made his way to the mouth of the cave as Lance called out, "Wait for me, Mullet!" Lance made to move upward before his upper body just gave out, completely weighed down by his lower half. A groan resonated from the pile of white and blue.

"Forgot about that bit…."

"Lance, you need to be more careful!" Keith lectured as he rushed over and helped the blue paladin sit up again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Keith made to get up again. He didn't make it far. Lance's arm shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"What, Lance?"

"I mean, you don't have to do that now, do you?"

"Yeah, if I don't do it now-"

"No! Don't leave yet, I mean you can always-"

"Seriously, Lance? The sun is setting, I need to go now." Keith ripped his wrist away without thinking, in turn ripping away the only thing Lance was mentally holding onto. Lance's eyes widened as he began to breath heavily.

"Lance?" Keith knelt down, immediately regretting being so short. Lance had been through just as much as he had, if not more… Lance shook his head and mumbled at Keith, telling him to go and get the wood.

"Hey, hey now, here-" Keith held out his hand and folded the top three fingers, leaving his thumb on the top and pinky extended. Lance looked at it, confused. Keith motioned for lance to hold out his hand, which he did. Then, it clicked. He held out his hand and joined his little finger with Keith's. Then, Keith pushed their thumbs together.

"There, _yaksok_ \- sealed. Now I have to come back, see? Nothing will happen while I'm gone, I promise."

Lance nodded, still slightly confused.

 _Just like Shiro used t0…_

Keith blocked the thought and stood up. Lance seemed calmer, quiet now as he sat back against the rock.

* * *

Keith stepped into the sun and immediately looked up, searching the sky for any sign at all of Galra. Thankfully, there was none. He sighed and looked around the rocky hills. Small bushes, small and near dead, dotted the landscape here and there. Wind blew through the pass and ruffled his hair.

Keith began to walk toward the closest bush, or more accurately mini-tree, and began to snap off branches. _Dry, thank God._

The sun was steadily going down further into the horizon.

It was dark by the time keith had finished. He then headed back into the opening of the cave, where he found Lance slumped against the rock, eyes drooped and breathing ragged. He sat up the second Keith stepped foot into the cave, on edge until he saw the familiar mullet. Tired, he sat back again, but still more controlled than before.

Keith dropped the wood in the center of the floor and sat next to Lance. The chill had set in. Their armor was soon going to offer little warmth.

"We need to check your wounds, Lance. They can't be good…" Keith spoke honestly, only thinking of the practical aspect of survival. Better Lance know what is really happening instead of some sugar coated version, right?

Lance noded and began to shift his broken armor off as best as he could, leaving small fragments caught in the black bodysuit. Even this was difficult, due to the fact that his right arm refused to cooperate beyond a certain measure of degrees upward. Keith moves toward him, rubbing his arms along his shoulder. Lance grunted as he adjusted his position before speaking, "Fire first, don't you think?" Keith nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that would be best. Need light after all…" Keith had forgotten about the darkness. The moonlight that filtered through the cave was plenty for him, but Lance not so much it seemed. Keith moved to the wood and set about lighting the fire.

Light filled the cavern almost instantly, illuminating everything with a soft yellow glow. Lance breathed in a long breath and sighed, basking in the light. Small sounds began to come out of the stonework. Cricket like creatures with glowing tails and fluttering wings chirped and hummed in the night.

Keith took a moment to assess himself as Lance looked around the cavern for the first time with decent lighting. His wrist pain had dulled to a small ache- not broken, thank quiznak, just badly bruised. He tested his other joints and was surprised to find them all in relative working condition, despite the amount or soreness they exhibited. How he had gotten away with so little injury…

"Keith, buddy? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah… and don't call me that." He brushed off the term of endearment before scooting closer to the paladin.

"What, would you prefer darling? Sweetie? Homie? _Chulo?"_

"Just shut it, Lance." Keith's tone may have been serious, but a small smile played at his lips… which promptly disappeared as he cut the black bodysuit off Lance.

"Jesus, Lance…"

"That bad, huh?" He cringed back as Keith laid a hand on the purple skin trailing down Lance's right side.

"No! Not at all…" Lance gave him a pointed look. "Yeah, alright, its bad." Lance's chest rose and fell steadily as he stared at Keith before dropping his head.

"I'm… uh, can you lay down, you think?" Keith reworded his sentence carefully.

"Yeah, yeah." Lance nodded and pushed himself away from the rock, laying down on the cold stone. Keith reached into the small metal satchel on his belt and brought out a small medical roll, packed for emergencies. He unrolled the material and slipped out a pair of tweezers. He carefully began to remove the small fragments of white armor from Lance's skin.

Lance remained silent.

None of the pieces dug deep, to Keith's relief. Just small surface wounds. He dropped the tweezers on top of the roll and rolled back onto his knees.

"Lance?" He spoke carefully, trying not to startle him.

"Yeah?" The quiet response came a moment later.

"I… I have to check for broken ribs. Keep talking?" Lance swallowed and nodded. Keith grabbed the small roll of bandages that were in the pack and began to unwrap them.

"What should I talk about?"

"Never had that question before, I imagine."

"Ha ha, very funny. See, I'm laughing." Lance weezed softly as he spoke.

"Anything, Lance. Just so you don't pass out. I need you." Keith said thoughtfully. "Awake! I need you awake. Is what I meant to say. What would you be doing right now, back on earth?" Keith tried to divert the attention from his slip up.

"Right… well, back in Cuba, before the garrison, me and Lola would sit out under the stars, in the fall. Jazmin would bring us coco and tell us to go inside, that we would catch our death; she was always saying things like that, old phrases, you know?" As soon as Lance started, he knew he wouldn't, couldn't, stop. The words just rolled off hit tongue, words he'd been longing to say for months.

Keith listened as intently as he could, but focused mainly on the task at hand. As sibling names and memories flowed from Lance's mouth, Keith pressed slightly at his chest and torso, looking for any sign of a broken rib. Lance's voice caught as he whimpered at the touch. His breathing became short and shallow.

"Hey, hey, I need you to calm down. What were you saying about Mia, now?"

"R-right… s-she had a-a fear of dogs," Lance began to speak again, distracting his mind from the pain in his chest. Keith pressed again and Lance gasped but kept talking, nearly incomprehensible through the rise and fall of his tone.

Keith sat back, distressed. They were definitely broken, but now he had a choice. Bandage them to relieve the pain but possibly restrict his breathing, or do nothing and leave Lance to the suffering. He licked his lips but it didn't help; his mouth was dry.

Tear tracks followed Lance's face and new droplets began to trace them.

In a moment, Keith decided. He reached around Lance and fed the bandages under his back, careful not to touch it anymore than he had too… that was the next problem…

He wrapped them as tightly as he dared and tied it off swiftly. It wasn't the first time he had done that and now that he was with voltron, it wouldn't be the last.

"Better?"

"Yeah… can finally breathe again." Lance paused to catch his aforementioned breath.

"Good, I'd let you rest a bit, but I-I have to… check your spine, Lance." Lance's face shifted.

"Now?"

"Can you feel your legs?" Lance looked down.

"No…"

"Then yes, now." Lance sighed and nodded, allowing Keith to slip a hand under his spine. He attempted to make Lance lay on his side. Painful, he knew, but he _needed_ to check how bad it was, even with his limited tech.

Lance dug his nails into the stone ground, face scrunched in pain.

His voice choked as Keith ran his hand down the raised line of his spine.

Keith froze.

"Lance?"

Lance caught his breath.

"T-talk to me, p-please." Keith frowned for a second.

"Oh." He realized what Lance was doing. He needed something to cling to, something to keep him there. "I, uh," Keith had no idea what to say. He took his hands away from Lance's back and sighed. He had been avoiding one particular spot… one that he saw a glimpse of the discoloration staining Lance's lower back.

"Just anything, right. So, when I was a kid, there was this tree." Keith couldn't think of any other story to tell, honestly. "Everything else seemed to fade away when I was by it. It seemed like the only thing for miles."

He rambled on and on as he tried to steady his own mind.

"Keith?" Lance prodded when he fell silent.

"Lance, I really need you to focus on my voice, one last time." Lance nodded.

"One day I climbed the tree, my parents were out of the house and the stars were above," Keith slipped his hand across Lance's lower torso as he spoke and pressed on the bruise with his other hand.

Lance cried out.

Flashes of Lance near dead on the sand flickered through Keith's mind but he kept his hand there, looking for a break.

 _There._

He felt it, the break. He sat back, eyes wide.

Honestly he didn't know why he was surprised. Nothing else could have caused it and yet….

He could feel the heat run out of him as his face paled. This was bad. He had hoped, nearly _prayed_ , that it could be something, _anything_ else... and he didn't know what to do.

A weak voice tore through his thoughts.

"K-keep talking… keith, p-please I-" Lance's voice was cut off by a small sob.

Keith immediately pulled the paladin close and began to try and calm him. He began to finish his story.

"The wind blew through the branches and shook my hair. Then, the branch snapped and I fell through the branches, landing on the dusty ground. I nearly… I nearly cried but then I saw the stars. I had never paid attention to them before, but now, they were the most beautiful thing I has ever seen. That's when I knew, I needed to go there, be there, _see them._ I applied for the garrison four years later."

He was finished, and Lance was cradled in his arms, breathing smoothly, asleep.

He didn't stay asleep for long. The firelight danced across his tanned skin, highlighting the whites of his eyes as he stared up at Keith.

"How are you?" Keith asked reflexively as he helped Lance settle against the rock. Lance was silent before responding.

"Thank you, keith."

"Yeah, no problem." The red paladin hung his head slightly. He put Lance through that pain. _Him_. And without a fucking purpose too. So what if he knew it was broken, it's not like he could do a damn thing about it.

"No, really. Thank you. You should've left me, escaped on your own, met up with Allura and gotten a new blue paladin. I'm…disposable. Really, I am. But you didn't, and while that was a stupid decision I… thank you." He finished rambling and ga up at Keith, who looked him dead in the eyes.

"No! No, you can't possibly think like that, Lance!" He stood up and towered over the boy. "You are not _disposable_! There is no _new blue paladin_! It's you Lance! Always and forever! There will never be another as good as you and you have to see that because I-" Keith cut himself off. "There just isn't, ok?"

Lance looked up at him, startled at the outburst, then down, ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Keith."

Keith stared into the flames of the fire.

* * *

"Hey, _bonito_?" The paladin could hear small shuffling in the dark.

"Yeah, Lance?" Keith replied, ignoring yet another foreign nickname. What did they even mean, anyway?

"Think you can help me sit up a bit?" Lance spoke tentatively; is was only a few minutes after their previous altercation. Keith snapped out of his 'zone' and turned to Lance. Turned out he has slip down the rock slightly and was struggling to push himself up.

"You should be asleep, it's late."

"Won't let you take watch alone…." Keith sighed and sat next to Lance.

"You need sleep."

Silence.

"...So do you." Keith honestly couldn't argue with that, but he would anyway. But Lance cut to the chase.

"Wake me up… as soon as you... feel tired." Lance could feel his eyes closing as he leaned against Keith.

"I will, I promise."

Lance then shifted slightly and mumbled something into Keith's shoulder.

"What?"

"What is it?"

"What is what?"

"Yagsock." Keith bit back a snicker.

"You mean _yaksok._ It's a… promise, of sorts. A lifeline. A seal of your word. You join fingers and promise something. If you break the promise, you break the seal of… oh what's the word… Brotherhood? No, comradery, that's it."

Again Lance mumbles something into Keith's arm. But this time is was just barely audible.

"Pin...ky promise…" And with those words, Lance was out like a light.

About an hour later, Keith began to get fidgety. And he was never fidgety.

…

Alright, scratch that he was always fidgety, but I digress. He looked over at Lance, who had ended up turning away from him, no longer using him as a human body pillow. The moonlight filtered through the cracks in the ceiling stronger than ever now, and Keith knew he needed air.

He stood slowly, glancing back at Lance before deciding to commit and walk out of the cave.

He'd be in sight of the entrance, right? Just sitting against a rock or tree away from the smell of blood.

 _Yaksok. That's what I told him earlier, and that's what I'm telling myself now. Nothing could happen, right?_

Through his sleep addled brain, that he insisted this was perfectly fine, this sounded like perfectly seamless reasoning.

He paced outside the opening for a second before spotting a small fruit tree under the light of the three full moons, each a different shade of light.

The wind blew through the small clearing and whistled through the hills.

As he sat, his mind began to wander. His eyes were heavy and his emotions were shot. He thought about the events that had led to him sit here under a tree, stranded with nowhere to turn. Soon, he fell into a fitful sleep of his own.

* * *

 _Explosions sounded through the air. Keith shouted into the coms. No one responded. His lion was in a death spiral, heading for the planet at a merciless speed. Finally, a voice broke through._

 _"Keith!" Lance went into a nose dive as Keith was ejected from Red. He didn't even know it happened until Blue swiped him out of the air, pulling out of the dive at the last second._

 _His lion fell into the gravitational pull of the planet and crashed into it's surface._

 _"Pull out!" Shiro's voice came through the coms._

 _"No! We can't leave red!"_

 _"We have no choice, Pidge can't hold it any longer! Now, pull out!"_

 _Lance did as he was told._

The picture changed.

" _No, no, no, and for the last time, no!" Allura tried to keep the anger and frustration out of her voice, knowing it wouldn't help. "It's just too dangerous. A solo retrieval? Really Keith? I know you can be brash, but this?" Her tone softened as he saw the look of same cross the red paladin's face. "Look at me, it wasn't your fault. We all were unprepared for the attack. All of us. The red lion getting taken was the result of everyone's lack of judgement at the intensity of the battle. You are not to blame; we will get the red lion back, you'll see."_

 _Keith glared at her and shrugged off Shiro's hand from his shoulder as he stormed off, in all sense of the word, away. Pidge sat on the table, eyes following Keith as he left._

" _I… should have handled that differently, I suppose."_

" _Just a bit?" Shiro sighed and leaned tiredly against the arm of the couch. Pidge hopped off the table and began to leave the room, likely looking for Hunk._

" _Wait, Pidge," Shiro called out; she stopped and turned. "You don't blame Keith for what happened, do you?"_

" _Of course not. No one does. But Keith would never understand that. We just need to give him some space, let him brood."_

" _I guess you're right about that."_

" _Always am," came her trailed response as she left the room._

 _Little did they know, Lance had hung in the doorway, overhearing the whole thing. As Pidge passed him to check the kitchens, worn from a long battle, Lance followed Keith, knowing the look in his eyes. He would never just 'brood' after something like this._

 _And he was right. Keith went straight to the pod hangers._

 _He watched as Keith looked around discretely, and attempted to open the door to a cruiser._

 _Lance stepped out of the shadows._

" _Keith-" The boy whipped around, catching Lance's eye._

" _Lance! I, uh…" He had no idea what to say. Lance beat him to it._

" _No need. I won't tell. Not on the best terms with Allura and… I-" He cut himself off. "I don't know if I would anyway. They don't need to worry about babysitting you with, you know, the whole Zarkon uprising." That wasn't the real reason, anyone could tell, but Keith wasn't in the mood to make him elaborate._

" _Fine, then." And Keith continued into the pod._

" _Wait!"_

" _What now?" Keith sounded exasperated._

" _I never said I would let you go alone."_

" _Hell no! I'm not letting you slow me down." Lance took those words through the fucking chest, but he didn't relent._

" _Well I'm not going to let you kill yourself! Come to think of it Allura might have simmered down…"_

" _Fine. Get in." And Lance did._

* * *

Keith jolted awake as a scream pierced through the night.

"Lance!"

(End of chapter)


End file.
